November 19, 2024
Mayor Sandra Masters,
City of Regina
Dear Mayor Masters;
Every day we hear about acts of antisemitism on the streets, in schools, universities and in major Canadian institutions of arts, culture, health and human services; thus on reading of your decision to not fly the flag of Palestine, we commend and thank you. While you may not have stated your reasons for this decision, it is for the Jewish community a sign of rationality, humanity, peace and justice. There is not now, nor has there ever been, a country called Palestine and those who are declaring it, are denying the historical existence of Israel, and the current re-constituted legal homeland of the Jewish people.
While the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation does not deny any people the right to describe their ethno-cultural identity, nor state their national aspirations, we do take issue with claims that deny the existence and rights of the Jewish people in their ancient and legal homeland.
History cannot be rewritten to make a political point. Jews have lived continuously in Israel for over 3500 years. Jews come from Judea, and through successive waves of immigration, more Jews settled there in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Jews have never forcibly evicted Arabs; thus 21% of the Israeli population is Arab. The current war with Hamas and Hezbollah was initiated by these designated terrorist entities inorder to destroy Israel, cleanse it of Jews and build another Islamist-terror state.
Canadians do not wish to celebrate a massacre, ethnic cleansing of Jews, the rise of antisemitism, nor the false claim that Israel is “occupying Palestine”, a country which does not actually exist. Israel is sovereign over its own territory and disputed territories are yet to be resolved.
Thank you again for your moral clarity.
Respectfully,
Andria Spindel, Executive Director
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